Ahead of this, a notice is being placed at the proposed bay locations to advise the community where they will be located. These locations have been proposed due to a number of factors such as proximity to amenities and ease of access for servicing. The community will have the opportunity to give their views on these locations by contacting Beryl and installation will not begin until after this period closes.

Last year, the council carried out consultation around the introduction of cycle hire, with over 1000 responses received, helping to shape the scheme.

Beryl CEO and co-founder, Phil Ellis, said: “We’re delighted to be bringing our services to Stevenage, an area that has a clear and achievable vision for encouraging more sustainable transport choices.

“Our e-bikes are a fun, easy and versatile way to travel and their extra power can really open up areas, enabling riders to tackle hills and undertake longer journeys.

“They’re also great for commuting, helping to reduce physical exertion and allowing people to arrive at work clean and ready to go.

“By encouraging more people to swap four wheels for two, we can hopefully contribute even more towards reducing traffic congestion while improving air quality and public health.”

Cllr Lloyd Briscoe, Cabinet Member for Economy, Skills and Transport, commented: “Active travel is something we are encouraging throughout the town. We have a unique cycle network but in Stevenage, nearly 60% of car journeys made are less than 5 miles. By having bikes available to hire, it will allow people to travel using a pollution-free method of transport, and further connect different areas of Stevenage. Having bikes located across the town and the flexibility that the cycle hire scheme offers will open up cycling to a greater number of people."

The Stevenage Cycle Hire Scheme will be operated by Beryl on behalf of the council and has been funded in part by funding awarded to Stevenage in 2021 as part of UK government’s Towns Fund, through the Stevenage Development Board, as well as contributions from developers as part of Section 106 agreements.

Adrian Hawkins OBE, Chair of the Stevenage Development Board, added: "Stevenage is a pioneering town in so many ways and there is nothing more forward thinking in its development than the cycleways which were created at its inception.

"These cycleways have put the town at the forefront of the revolution in cycling and we are delighted to see the cycle hire scheme now put Stevenage even further ahead of our peers.

"The reduction of emissions across the town is a serious challenge and our work towards becoming net zero is one which is very high on the agenda. Schemes such as this will allow everyone to play their part on journeys of all distances, safely and collectively will have a major impact on the future for our children and the way transport is undertaken in our town. The Stevenage Development Board is proud to support these changes.”

Users will be able to pay for their journeys in a variety of ways to suit individual needs and circumstances, with Pay-As-You-Ride and Minute Bundles.

The proposed list of bays can be viewed here. 

Members of the public can also submit their own specific requests for bays via an online form.

Beryl currently operates hire schemes nearby in both Watford (200 bikes/100 e-bikes, launched March 2020) and Hertsmere (40 bikes/20 e-bikes, launched October 2022). Since those schemes were introduced, they have produced a combined 510,000 sustainable journeys across 1.4m km, generating 200,000 hours of physical activity. According to industry calculations, they have saved over 154 tonnes of carbon emissions.

The latest annual Beryl Rider Report, a survey of thousands of Beryl users across several schemes undertaken in summer 2023, showed that 56% of e-bike riders said they cycled more often or much more often since using Beryl e-bikes.

The Beryl app is available for free download on the App Store for iOS, and the Google Play Store for Android users.

For more information, visit beryl.cc